Cut-feather pompon.



M. HERMAN.

CUT FEATHER POMPON. APPLlCATlON map szmm. 1911.

Patented May 28,1918.

MAX HERMAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

cur-FEATH R POMPON.

To aZZ whom it may concern: L

Be it known that I, MAX HERMAN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Out- Feather Pompous, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in cut-feather pompous and in the method of making the same, and aims to provide improvements therein.

Pompons are generally of considerable size and for many yearshave been made of ostrich feather cuttings. A recent development of this art has been to form them from short lengths or sections of feathers. Obviously, the simulation of the ostrich type depends more or less upon the symmetrical arrangement and appearance of the cut feathers, and, owing to the size of the pompen, the number of feathers employed is comparatively large. As will be understood, any attempt to arrange the individual feathers into a cluster of the desired size while maintaining the desired symmetrical appearance, ispractically impossible especially for commercial uses, the difficulty of preserving a definite arrangement of loose feathers of the size required being such as render the production of a satisfactory product more or less of an accident and of prohibitive cost.

Owing to these difficulties, it has become the practice to form the cluster by a step process, the feathers being gathered into small groups or bunches, each bunch being arranged symmetrically, the inner end of V the bunch being placed in a compactvformation and wrapped or bound with wire, a portion of the wire being carried beyond the wrapped portion to form a bunch stem. Since the number of feathers used in forming the hunch is comparatively small, the difficulty of providing the desired uniform and symmetrical arrangement is very ma terially reduced.

The desired number of these bunches are then gathered or grouped into a cluster, with the bunches symmetrically arranged, after Specification of Letters Patent. Pate ted BIay' 28, 1918. Application filed September 31, 1917, 'Serial No. 192,442. L I

which the wire bunch stems are wrapped or bound together by a wire binding, the wire stem formation permitting the. necessary bending or manipulation of the'bunch' ,to properly position it within the cluster withthe bunch bodily, and since the wire stem is bendable, the bunch movement disturbs the normal arrangement, the change remaining unless an expert manipulation is had to restore the original condition, a more or less difficult matter without separating the bunches, and again assembling them in the desired relation.

The present invention is designed to produce a pompon of this type which is not only superior to the pompon thus formed in appearance, but which, in addition, has the characteristic of being unaffected by pressure applicatiompressure or crushing of the pompon providing no permanent indentation or cleavage of the surface of the pompon, the feathers being relatively set and being free from liability of removal by shaking of the pompon or by stroking the feathers with the palm of the hand.

To these and other ends, therefore, the nature of which will be readily understood as the invention is hereinafter described, said invention consists in the improved construction of pompon and the method of produc-.

ing the same, hereinafter more fully de scribed, illustrated in, the accompanying out materially distorting the bunch forma- L Fig. 2 illustrates a single feather, of which my pompon is made, a number of which gathered together form small bunches;

Fig. 3 illustrates a small bunch made up of feathers;

Fig. i illustrates a number of small bunches gathered together to form. a single bunch, according to the present invention; and

Fig. made the present process.

The method of producing a ponipon from cut feathers, as heretofore practised, is indicated in Figs. 1 to 3, Fig. A indicating at a a length or section of a feather employed, Fig. 3 indicating the' grouping" of the individual feathers into. a bunch A, the inner ends of the feathers being bound or wrapped together by a wire strandv Z) which is ar ranged so as to produce a wire stem 7) whicli forms the bunch stem.

A number of these bunches are then grouped into a cluster as shown somewhat in Fig.1, the wire bunch stems being bound or wrapped together by a wire strand to form the pompon stem. As indicated in Fig. 1, the groupingof the bunches requires that the wrapped stems of the bunches extend at different angles from the wire bunch stems. and hence the wrapping 7F practically extends only. over the stems 71 7 Obviously, any material pressure or crushing action will shift or bend the affected bunch at the point where its wire stem emerges from the wrapped stems Z2 thus changing the general appearance, as, for instance, shown in Fig. 1. And to attemptto restore it becomes a more or less difficult matter.

In producing the pompon of the present invention, the method above indicated is substantially followed in, order that the desired grouping of the bunches can be had in a'simple and efficient manner. However, when the cluster is completed by the application of wrapping 5 additional operations are provided. Thefirst' operation is to bring the inner ends of the unwound poi ti'ons of the bunches into compact arrangement and with the desired symmetry, after which a wrapping or binding 0 is applied about these ends beyond or above the wrapped feather stems of the bunches, producing an embryo pompon formation such as is disclosed, for instance, in Fig. 4. As will be understood, this wrapping c made on the: feather formation alone and acts tobind the unwound portions of the feathers into. the desired uniform and symmetrical arrz'ingement, an arrangement which is unafiected by pressure since any crushing effect is placed on individual feathers which will yield but return when the pressure is relieved unless actually broken.

illustrates a completed pompon-- When it desired to complete the pompon, it is necessary only to sever the wrapped feather and bunch stems below wrapping ct-hese stems thus becoming temporary stems instead of the permanent stems of the previous format-ions-and applying, a stem D, which may be secured to the completed cluster in suitable manner, as by passing a wire through the bound or wrapped portion of the cluster and turning th end! of the wire down inside of the cluster.

As will be understood, removal of the temporary stems relieves the feathers from the restraint of the bunch conditions, and the feathers may therefore, readilyspread out to a. configuration somewhat like that shown in Fig. 5, producing a finished product much superior in. appearance to that heretofore provided.

My improved pompon may be crushed or pressed upon, as is likely to occur curing ordinary usage, without receiving cleavages or indentations, as shown in Fig. 1'.

What I claim is- 1. A pompon formation comprising a plurality of bunches of cut feathers assembled in cluster formation, each" bunch consisting of a plurality of individual feathers in arranged symmetry with one end of the feathers compacted and bound or wrapped into a pack formation and having wire bunch stem projecting therefrom,.the assemblyof bunches being in arranged symmetry and having the bunch. stems wrapped or bound to proride a pompon stem,'andassembl'ed bunches being collectively Wrapped or bound into pack formation beyond the bunch Wrappings to maintain the relative symmetry of the feathers of a bunch and of the assembled cluster, wherby a pompon maybe completed by severing the wrapped or bound portions of the assembly with the exception of such collective Wrapping and by the addition of a stem.

2. The method of making pompons from cut feathers which consists in forming" a plurality of bunches of cut feathers arranged symmetrically and having a temporary wrapped binding stem and a project ing temporary Wire bunch stem, assembling the bunches into a symmetrical cluster with the bunch stems wrapped to produce a temporary pompon stem, binding the assembly together by an external wrapping or binding adjacent the temporary binding stems, and severing the temporary binding, bunch and pom'pon stems.

3. The method of making pompons from out feathers which consists in forming a plurality of bunches of cut feathers arranged symmetrically and having a temporary wrapped binding stem and a projectingtemporary wire bunch stem, assembling the bunches into a symmetrical cluster bunch and pompon stems, and adding a with the bunch stems wrapped to produce stem to the formation.

a temporary pompon stein, binding the as- Signed at New York in the county of New sembly together by an external Wrapping York and State of New York this 19th day 10 5 or binding adjacent the temporary binding of September A. D. 1917.

stems, and severing the temporary binding, MAX HERMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. G. 

